A Jewel in the Glade
by TalleyAnne
Summary: When something tragic happens in the Weasley family, Ginny has to turn to someone-or something-to ease the pain......rating is for dramatic plot.chapter 2 up******
1. Chapter 1King Cross Once More

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story except the plot.  All figures relating to Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling. (Darn)

Ch.1

"Come on, Frederick, George!  ROOOOOOOONALD!  HarrEEEEEEEE!" called Mrs.Weasley up the spiral staircase.  "Its 9:30 and we have to get to Kings Cross Station by 11:00!"  She shook her head with a tiny "mmph" noise.  She walked over to the table where Ginny Weasley was peevishly eating her butter toast and tea, obviously worried about not getting to platform 9 ¾ in time and being left behind for her 4th year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  She would eat a bite of toast, chew while she twirled her long, lush locks of fiery red hair, take a sip of tea, get up and pace back and forth, and then finally shooed back to her breakfast by Molly.  This had been Virginia's normal routine for the past 3 years on the morning they returned to Hogwarts.  But, this year, Ginny was 14, and a new task was added to her schedule.  Every once in a while, she would walk over to the large talking mirror in the den.  She would check her sleek ponytail, and straighten her skirt, which she wore with her gray knee socks, blouse, Gryffindor tie, a sweater vest and her black, black, black-as-a-midnight-lake robes.  (Ginny got a job taking orders at the Three Broomsticks all summer and replaced her entire school wardrobe with the profits-being a Weasley she was very proud of her just-out-of-the-shop uniforms.)  The mirror would tell her every time that she looked "abso-LUTE-telly bee-YOU-tifall, dahling."  

            "Uugh," Ginny grunted as she glanced at her leather watch (new from Tick-Tock-Clockery) a half an hour later.  She threw down the needle point project she was occupying her nervous fingers with and stormed up the staircase towards Ron's room, where he and his best friend the all-famous Harry Potter had slept the night before, no different from any other night during any summer.  She ran down the hall & burst through the door at the very end of the hall to the right.  As she walked in, her eyes grew very large.

            "GET UP NOOOOW!" she shrieked shrilly as she opened the darkened blinds, filling the room with streams of harsh morning sunlight.  Ron's hand immediately flew to his eyes as he sat up in his bed.  Harry did the same thing in his cot.

            "Jeepers, Ginny!" grunted Ron.

            "Get out of bed!  Hurry!  Get dressed we have to leave!  It's after 10:00!"  She cried, frantically pacing back and forth.  "I can't BELIEVE you're still sleeping!"

            "Mum made us de-gnome the gardens yesterday!  We're tired!"

            "Uh!" cried Ginny as she went over to Ron's closet and started pulling out clothes.

            "God, Ginny!  Stop!" shouted Ron as he tore across the room towards Ginny and threw her away.  Harry found this very amusing.  "Pestery little git!  Get OUT of there!"

"UUUH!  OW!"  Yelled Ginny as she stumbled backwards into Ron's beaureau.  "What, you don't want me to see the BAD magazines you hide from mum?"  She spat in his face.  Harry sniggered.  Ginny had a gift for sounding comical when she was frustrated.  She didn't think it was funny at all, and she shot Harry a glare that said "its not funny."  Harry looked confused.  Ginny had liked him forever, he never thought shed have the courage to glare at him!  But Ginny was no longer shy around Harry, but she still fancied him greatly.  She turned back to Ron, hoping to sort the situation out later.

            Ron looked sheepish about the magazines.  He was very inept at making excuses.  "Um, dad gave them to me?" he tried.  Ginny just rolled her eyes.

            "Shut up and get ready!" she flew out the door to help her father load the new ford Anglia minivan.

            "So cute when she's mad," muttered Ron grimly.

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            The Weasleys (and Harry) piled into the car, with Harry, Ron, and Ginny in the very back, Fred and George and their chemistry set in the middle (they were helping teach a joke potion class for 1-3 years since they were too old for Hogwarts), Arthur Weasley driving and Molly Weasley reading _The Daily Prophet _in the passenger seat.  She was reading a rather amusing article, _Flourish and Blots Employee is Harmed by Disappearing Ink _by _Rita Skeeter_; apparently the employee was staking disappearing ink when a bottle shattered, covering him with it, and now no one can find him.  They started out of the long driveway towards the muggle highway.

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As the car coasted down to the bottom of a hill, the car jolted and stopped.  Mr. Weasley fumbled with the key for a few moments.  All of a sudden, a huge truck appeared at the top of the hill and beeped loudly.  The van was filled with screams mixing with the squealing of the truck's tires.  The truck loomed closer and closer.  With a sigh of relief, Mr. Weasley juggled the key once more and the engine sputtered.  They veered into the safety lane as the truck roared past.  The next few moments were filled with a deadly silence.  Ginny let out a long, pained breath.

            "Um, Ginny?"  Ron said quietly.  "Geroff me please."  Ginny looked down.  She was gripping his arm so tightly that her knuckles were white.

            "Sorry," whispered Ginny shakily.  Arthur's hand released the wheel and Molly's hands were covering her face.  "It happened so fast mummy," whispered Ginny, collapsing into tears.

            "I know baby."

            Ginny buried her head in Ron's shoulder.  He put his trembling arm around her and leaned his ginger head back against the seat.  He looked over at Harry. 

            Harry gulped and leaned his elbow on the door.  He was breathing heavily.  "We could have been killed!" whispered Harry.

"Let's-let's just get o-on with our journey," said Mrs. Weasley with a nervous laugh.  She gave the dashboard a hearty pat.  "Don't fail on us now."

Arthur started the van and they drove off for Kings Cross Station.


	2. Mum and the Feast

Disclaimer-dum dee dum dee doo bee boo….OK FINE its not mine)

I know the first chapter was short, but more will come! Science fair this week and I barely have time to post.

Thanks for reading! TalleyAnne

'thoughts'

Chapter 2-Mum and the Feast

            "Bye, kids, have a great year! Owl post me tonight!  I love you!  I'll miss you!  Don't forget to write me!" called Molly Weasley out of the car window as Arthur pulled out of the lot.  

            Ron, Ginny and Harry waved with smiles on their faces.  They steered their carts toward the platform hurriedly.

            "THERE you are!" cried a voice from behind.  They turned around and stared.

            "I've been looking ALL over for you!  WHERE have you been?  The train leaves in 3 minutes!  I told you to meet me here at 10:30!  Oh, hallo, Ginny."  This girl said all of this very fast as she dragged her heavy cart full of extra course books (as always) along with the required ones that Harry and Ron had in their carts.  A rather large orange and white cat with large, glinting eyes was stalking along closely at the girl's heels.  The initials on the girl's shiny black trunk read HG.

            "Hermione?" said Ron puzzledly.

            "What?  Hurry up now, we're going to miss the train!"

            "Wow!  Hermione, you've changed!" he breathed.

            "Translation-you look great and I love you," Ginny whispered slyly under her breath to Harry and they stifled giggles.

            "Thank you," said Hermione sheepishly as they boarded the shiny steamengine, The Hogwarts Express.  Under her longer black robes, her jeans and striped shirt clung perfectly to all of her "new" curves.  Her flyaway curls were tamed in 2 long pigtail braids.  She was wearing a hint of makeup, but just enough to accent her already beautiful features.  She had gotten taller, but still small.

            They boarded the train after her and found and empty compartment.  Ginny ran of to sit with her 4th year friends, Jaclyn Schemer (Gryffindor), Mandela Diggory (Hufflepuff), and Laura and Lily Reynolds.

             Soon after they settled in and told Hermione about their little scare, the rotund lady came by with the treat trolley.  Ron got an enormous supply of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and the new treat, super sour charm suckers.  (They had spells written on them, so for example, if you got a wingardium leviosa one, then you would float a few feet up off of the ground.)  Harry bought the usual cauldron cakes and avocado foam drops.  Hermione didn't know that they foamed in your mouth, and she had to hit Harry and Ron powerfully and they laughed when her mouth opened wide for loads of orange-coloured foam seeped out of her mouth (along with a few tears).

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            "Hufflepuff!" roared the sorting hat as a nervous-looking girl hopped off the stool and nearly fainted of fright as she walked to join her house at their table.  

            "And lastly, Zimmerman, Anna."  Prof. McGonagall placed the sorting hat on a girl with black hair who had transferred from Tzeitle Academy in Italy and was in her 6th year.

            Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat hungrily through Anna's Sorting ("Ravenclaw!") and Dumbledore's start-of-term speech.  When both were finally over, Ron, as a tradition, dug into the chicken drumsticks, and Ginny came over to talk to Hermione about what Arithmancy had been like (Ginny was going to take it this year).

            "Any room for me?" Ginny asked Harry with a smile.

            "Uh, sure!" said Harry nervously, scooting over closer to Neville as Ginny's warm presence sat down beside him.

            But, as soon as she and Hermione had engaged themselves in Arithmancy, Dumbledore glided over in deep purple robes.

            "Ronald, Miss Virginia, something has happened," he said.

            Ginny looked across the table at Ron with confusion wrinkling her brow.  Ron shrugged, mouthing, "Charlie probably got bit by a dragon.  No worries."  But Ron was clearly worried.

            "May I see you in my office please?  Dumbledore's face was expressionless, and his voice was unusually shaky.

            Ginny looked at Hermione, then at Harry, his green eyes melting her heart full of reassurance.  Ginny's eyes moved to Ron, and they both slowly stood up and followed Dumbledore out of the great hall and started the trek to his office, without a word spoken.

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            When they went inside, Ginny and Ron sat upon the overstuffed couch, and Dumbledore stood facing them beside Fawkes.

            "Now, do try to remain calm,"  he warned.  He took a breath.  "It happened this afternoon, on the way home from King's Cross.  The new Anglia stopped dead on the Muggle Highway."

            Ginny looked at Ron, who was fearfully ringing his hands.

            "There was a line of fast-moving traffic behind them, and Arthur couldn't move the car.  It was-hit."

            Ginny froze and Ron grabbed her tiny, manicured hand.  

            "Your father is in the hospital, and-and we lost your mother around 1:30.  I'm sincerely sorry."

            Ron closed his eyes, as if he thought he was dreaming.  Ginny stood up in disbelief.

            "NO!  No, no, no, no-NO!"  she cried, picking up a large goblet and throwing it at a mirror, smashing the glass that reflected her horrified face.  "No, she didn't-you let her die!"  she screamed shrilly at the top of her lungs, making a leap at Dumbledore-Ron yanked her back powerfully, and she shook herself loose.  

            "Virginia, plea-"  Dumbledore started and he laid her hand on her shoulder, but she threw it off.  Ron ran to her again, but she pushed him away, bawling.  

            "Virginia, she was in a Muggle hospital, and I was not able to heal her!  I am very, very sorry.  If you would like to talk, teachers are available."

            "I DON'T WANT A TEACHER!  I WANT MY MUTHER!"  Screeched Ginny.  By now even Dumbledore's eyes were shiny, and his voice was cracking.

            Ginny let out a small cry of pain, agony, and angst, burst into fresh tears, and flung open the heavy oak door, leaving Ron staring behind her, starting to realise what had happened.

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            She didn't know how far she ran, but she ran past the great hall, and smack into a soft body who's arms grasped hers tightly.

            "Ginny, what happened?"  Cried a familiar voice, struggling to keep Ginny from collapsing.

            Ginny didn't care who it was-she didn't even look up at him.  She just buried her face in his chest, gripping his robes, and cried.  

            "Shhh,"  the boy cooed softly.  "Shhh, calm down."  The mystery boy stroked her red hair.  Then he guided her into an empty classroom and sat her on his lap at the desk.  Ginny cried a bit more, head on his shoulder, arms around his neck.  She finally wiped her eyes and cheeks streaked with eye makeup.  She looked up wearily into the greenest eyes, the same ones that had melted her heart for years-the eyes of Harry Potter.

            "Oh, Harry,"  she whispered hoarsely.  

            "Its okay, baby, what happened?"  he soothed.  

            Ginny sniffed and took a slow, shaky breath.  Her eyes flickered around the room and stopped on Harry's hand on her arm.  "My mum-mummy-my mum died and my father hut-carcrashohharry!"  She burst into another fit of tears as she gripped him tight.

            Harry's jaw dropped, eyes widened, and his chest tightened.  His heart felt a pang of true sympathy for young Ginny.  But, he thought, maybe this was his chance!  Ginny might fall in love with him, right here right now!  Oh, happy day-RON!  

            Harry cursed himself for forgetting about Ron.  He looked down at Ginny.  She had fallen asleep on his shoulder, a tear stuck on her eyelashes.  Harry brushed it off and sighed.  He slid his quidditch-toned arm under her back and another under her knees and stood up with her.  He walked out the door and headed for the common room, looking for Ron down every corridour they passed.

Hope ya liked it-I love cliffhangers-oh and if you review me ill post them but I haven't got any but ones from friends!

 Sianara and goodnite! Tal.


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